


In The Dark of The Night

by LordGrimwing



Series: Not Quite Dead [4]
Category: Torchwood
Genre: Gen, Undead Owen Harper, spoilers through season 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-09-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:01:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26436868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LordGrimwing/pseuds/LordGrimwing
Summary: Tosh wakes up when something goes bump in the night.
Series: Not Quite Dead [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1923064
Kudos: 8





	In The Dark of The Night

**Author's Note:**

> Set sometime before Vertebrae.

Tosh rolled over and blinked. She was having such a nice dream; there was a park, and ducks, and a picnic with. . . and now it was gone. She stared into the darkness. Could going to sleep now bring the dream back? Maybe if she just lay here and focused and—Why had she woken up? Tosh sat up slowly. The window and curtains were still closed. The sliver of streetlight slipping through suggested it was in the wee hours still. The clock by the bed agreed. She was a light sleeper. Maybe an animal ran past the window, or a car started, or a host of other completely mundane things. But then, she was in Torchwood: mundane things didn’t usually do them. 

Quietly, she reached for the nightstand’s drawer. Jack gave her the handgun after her first month in Torchwood, told her to keep it in her flat, somewhere she could get it quickly. Tosh flicked the safety as she slid from under the covers, toes curling in the carpet. After a year—after she’d almost taken her foot off when a blowfish smashed through the window—Jack made her practice in the dark for hours. 

A noise came from beyond the door: the tink of glass on glass. Tosh slid slowly into the hall. 

Jack told her to call if she got the chance. Training would help; a partner backing her up was better. But she’d gotten home late and left her phone in her purse in the kitchen. She didn’t want to call him anyway. Firstly, she was probably overreacting. No need to call Jack all the way out here for nothing. He probably got less sleep than anyone else on the team, and she did not want to add to that. Secondly, Tosh wasn’t the lost young woman he’d ‘recruited’ anymore. She could handle herself.

The light was on in the kitchen. She knew she’d turned it off before going to bed. Taking a deep breath, she raised the gun and stepped around the corner. 

“Owen?”

He looked up from his spot on the floor, surrounded by every piece of cookware Tosh owned. 

"Hello, Toshiko." He said calmly, placing her last bowel on the pyramid of pots and pans and cups.

"What are you doing here?" Tosh gasped, lowering her gun and setting the safety. She had almost asked if Jack knew he'd left the Hub.

Owen raised an eyebrow. "Building a pyramid, obviously." He set a knife precariously atop a domed pan lid. It teetered but stayed in place.

Leaving the gun on the counter, the tired woman sat down next to the dead man. She didn't want to argue with anyone at this hour. She would just take Owen to the Hub when she went in for work. She usually arrived while the building was still quiet. Maybe nobody would even know Owen left.

It didn't take him long to finish the pyramid: Tosh didn't have much cookware. Not that she didn't know how to cook, she just usually could not find the time. She blinked slowly, leaning against an empty cupboard. 

"Where are your shoes?" She asked absently. Come to think about it, he really was not dressed for going out. Of course, the cold weather couldn't bother him anymore.

"I'm not a complete twat. They're dirty; I left them by the door." He stared blankly at his misshapen creation.

"Oh," she rubbed the back of a hand over her eyes, yawning. "Why are they dirty?"

Owen was quiet. "I walked here." He finally admitted. 

Tosh sat up, shoving the sleep away. "You walked here from the Hub?" She demanded.

"Yes. It isn't that far." 

"Owen, it's almost five kilometers." She stood up. "You can't do that!"

He followed her up in sock-covered feet. "Why not?" He frowned. "People walk that far all the time. You walk to the Hub from here sometimes."

Owen didn't get mad like he used to. She assumed he could still be furious if he wanted, but because every action required a conscious choice now, it took longer for his body to reflect his feelings. Perhaps the lack of hormones also contributed to his muted response. Tosh knew he was probably mad but her brain insisted otherwise, unable to see the normal indicators.

"Yes," she started. "But it's the middle of the night and-"

"It's dangerous?" Owen interjected. 

Tosh nodded. "If something happened-"

"Bloody hell," he crossed his arms, glaring at her. "You wouldn't have a problem with Jack walking here." 

"He's Jack." She glared back at him.

"You wouldn't go off on Ianto for walking that far." His voice rose a little.

"I'm not 'going off' on you, Owen. You can't-"

"Gwen can and that baby's going to pop out any day now!"

"Don't be vulgar." Tosh realized she'd been holding back tears when one escaped down her cheek.

"Everyone else fucking can, so why can't I?" His shoulders hunch defensively.

"You know why." Struggling to keep her voice steady, Tosh looked away. "What if someone tries to mug you? What if there's a drunk driver? What if UNIT works around the red tape and none of us are around when they come for you?" She had to stop, memories of her own time with UNIT surging against the walls she'd built to hold them.

Two weeks ago, Martha called Jack. The military organization found out about Torchwood Three's little brush with Death. UNIT leadership didn't care that Owen was human or worked for Torchwood, all they saw was an interesting corpse. Martha was throwing as many objections as she could. She suggested, and Jack insisted, they keep Owen out of sight until UNIT lost interest.

Owen broke eye contact, disengaging. "Sorry I came then. Next time Jack and Ianto are shagging, I'll just lock myself in the archive with the rest of the artifacts." He turned away, starting for the door.

Tosh reached out, grabbing his wrist just above the bandages. He couldn't feel it, of course, she'd just done it from habit. "Owen," she said. "Wait."

He stopped but didn't turn around. She released his arm. "Aryan asked to borrow my car today. She's a single mom and some jackass stole her car last week." Tosh took a breath, giving Owen a chance to object. He didn't. "Could you wait a few minutes? I just need to change, and then I'd really appreciate some company while I walk to the Hub."

"Fine." Owen relented. "But I'm not waiting forever."

Tosh smiled and hurried back to her room. 

  
  


When she emerged ten minutes later, hair damp and clothes wrinkled, the pyramid was gone. Everything sat innocently where it had been the evening before. Given the state of his lab, Tosh was surprised Owen remembered where everything went. 

Owen wasn't where she'd left him and for a moment, Tosh's heart sunk. Then she saw him standing by the door, shoes on and completely underdressed for the weather. He was staring dully at the mechanical fish swimming mindlessly in the aquarium on a bookshelf.

"I'm always worried I'd forget to feed a real pet." She admitted, pulling on a coat to block out the predawn chill.

He opened the door for her and they stepped out into the deserted hallway. It was too early for any of Tosh's neighbors to be up, so they had the elevator to themselves on the ride down.

"Owen," she interrupted the silence when they left the complex. "How did you get into my flat without triggering any alarms?"

He shrugged, pulling a key out of a pocket. "Jack's got keys to all of our places. He's probably got the alarm codes memorized but they're written down too."

"Jack," Tosh muttered, taking the key and stuffing it in her purse. She'd give it back to their boss when she saw him because, honestly, there would probably be a life and death situation one day when he needed to get into one of their homes but that wouldn't stop her from being unnerved for just a little bit.

The Hub was dark when they got in. Though the light was on in Jack's office, Tosh didn't see him. She suspected he forgot to turn it off most nights.

"Owen," she said as her companion headed for the morgue. "Thank you."

Owen paused for a moment — Tosh thought he was going to say something — then disappeared down the stairs.

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I think it is time to make a series for all my Torchwood stories. I guess this is also now an AU since Gwen is pregnant. Just pretend Exit Wounds didn't happen. 
> 
> Look, I like undead Owen and Tosh is sweet. Does that mean I am slowly putting them through hell? Maybe, maybe.


End file.
